DENVER -- The Los Angeles Dodgers have optioned outfielder Yasiel Puig a day after he did not travel with the team.
General manager Farhan Zaidi said Tuesday that Puig is expected to be assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and report on time, by this weekend.
Puig was told by the team Monday to not join the Dodgers on their road trip, as he would be either traded or demoted. With the Dodgers unable to move the 25-year-old ahead of Monday's non-waiver trade deadline, he was sent down.
The decision to send down Puig, a major leaguer since the 2013 season, came in conjunction with the Dodgers' acquiring right fielder Josh Reddick from the Oakland Athletics on Monday. Pitcher Rich Hill was acquired by the Dodgers in the same deal.
"The production from right field hasn't been at the same level it has been in past years so that was a spot we were looking at in particular," Zaidi said Tuesday in Colorado. "Once we were able to complete the trade with Reddick, we evaluated different options. We're obviously still evaluating Yasiel's health and whether he was a potential option to DL so we were talking through that. But ultimately we decided that move just made most sense with the roster we have and the way we plan to deploy our players and the lineups going forward."
Reddick was immediately inserted into the Dodgers' lineup Tuesday and placed in the cleanup spot. After completing his Dodgers debut -- going 0-for-4 in a 7-3 loss -- Reddick has batted in the cleanup spot for the Dodgers exactly the same amount of times Puig has been there this season.
Dave Roberts, in his first season as the Dodgers' manager, made it a point to forge an early relationship with Puig, offering him a clean slate before spring training began. Four months into the season, Roberts seems to be having a harder time with Puig than he expected.
Roberts was asked whether Puig, and the off-the-field issues that are attached, have taken more of his time than other players have. He had a one-word answer.
"Yes," he said.
Was that unfair to the rest of the team?
"The goal, especially at this level as coaches and manager, time and focus should be distributed evenly," Roberts said. "And I think Yasiel understands that. This is something that we expect him to understand is not punitive. It's for his growth, to become ultimately a better baseball player."
Zaidi said a right-field platoon with Reddick was considered but that ultimately the club thought having Puig play every day in the minor leagues had the best chance of helping him sooner. And while no specifics were mentioned, Puig's off-the-field behavior was also in play.
"Our primary objective was really making the team better," Zaidi said. "That's why I talked about the production we got from right field. There are certainly things we think he can do better off the field, and those have been communicated to him. I don't want to elaborate on that further. There isn't really a point to that. But I believe he and his representation understand what we're hoping happens moving forward."
So will Puig play for the Dodgers ever again?
"I don't want to handicap that situation," Zaidi said. "Like I said, it certainly is a possibility. Beyond that it's just speculation."
Information from ESPN's Doug Padilla was used in this report.